HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

January 23, 1979
Event type: Snow avalanches.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: Terrace-Kitimat Daily Herald, January 24, 1979; Victoria Times, January 24, 1974.
Around January 23, two avalanches blocked Highway 16 about halfway between Terrace-Prince Rupert. The
slides that came down after recent heavy snowfalls followed by mild weather and rain closed the road for up to two
days. On January 23 at 1:15 a.m., an avalanche closed Highway 16 about 43 mi. (68.8 km) west of Terrace after 30 ft.
(9 m) of snow fell onto 150 ft. (45 m) of highway. By noon, the highway was cleared to single-lane traffic. During the
previous two and a half weeks, 12 minor avalanches had closed the highway for approximately 30 minutes.
February 10-13, 1979
Event type: Snow avalanches.
Precipitation: Not available.
Source: Victoria Times, February 12, 1979; The Citizen, February 13, 1979.
On February 10, heavy snow, recent warm temperatures and rain caused avalanches in the Interior. Late on
February 11, the Pine Pass section of Highway 97 reopened to single-lane traffic.
Around February 13, blizzards and snow slides blocked the highway in the Pine Pass and Highway 16
between Terrace-Prince Rupert.
April 1979
Event type: Landslide.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: Alaska, July 1979; Evans 1986; Clague and Evans 1994 (p. 8); S. Johnson, pers. comm. October 1996;
Geertsema 1998.
A landslide near Yeth Creek, 50 km east of Tulsequah Lake, dammed Inklin River, one of the main
tributaries of the Taku River just south of Juneau, Alaska. The dam, located about 70 mi. (112 km) upstream from the
mouth of the Taku River, formed by quaternary sediments created a lake 12 km long raising the water level by about
20 m. (Clague and Evans 1994; Geertsema 1998). Water later cut a chute through the dam. The slide impounded the
river just upstream of a rock canyon, blocking the steelhead and Chinook salmon run for about a month (S. Johnson,
pers. comm.). *1)
Upstream of the slide, a “characteristic bathtub ring” of shrubby vegetation with dead trees, long since fallen,
contrasted against coniferous forest, is still evident today (Geertsema 1998).
The dam caused by the slide was about 65 ft. (19.5 m) high and the lake forming behind it was as much as
0.5 mi. (800 m) wide (Alaska, July 1979). The dimensions of the slide are about 400 m long by 250-300 m wide,
giving an area of about 11 ha. The slide involved an estimated 2-3 million m 3 of material. The distance from the crown
of the headscarp to the tip of the spoil is about 700 m and about 850 m of the slide spoil is exposed along the river.
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* 1) According to Alaska Department of Fish & Game biologist Paul Kissner, an estimated 50% of the Taku River king
() salmon and up to 90% of the Taku River red salmon normally spawn in the dam-blocked river reaches of the Inklin
River (Alaska, July 1979).
June 30-July 2, 1979
Event type: Flooding.
Precipitation: Not available.
Source: Victoria Times, July 3, 1979; Alaska Highway Daily News, July 6, 1979.
On June 30-July 1, Fort St. John experienced heavy rainfall, causing flooding and washouts, including on 106 th
Avenue between 94 th -96 th streets.
On July 2, a 225-km section of the Alaska Highway was closed after rain washed out two bridge approaches.
RCMP stopped traffic near Fort Nelson at mile 308. The highway was expected to reopen in about three days. More than
1,000 stranded travelers were waiting in Fort Nelson when the road reopened at noon on July 6.
August 13, 1979
Event type: Glacial outburst flood.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: Victoria Times, August 7, 1979; Clarke and Waldron 1984 (pp. 502-504).
Around August 6, a lake building behind Flood Creek Glacier was reported threatening to release some
100,000 ft. 3 /min.( m 3 /min.). According to Jim Scott of the B.C. Provincial Emergency Program, the Stikine River
valley, “being 8 km wide, the large volume (of water) will not cause the flooding we expected.” (Victoria Times,
August 7, 1979).
On August 13, Flood Lake, a glacier-dammed lake in the Stikine River basin, released approximately 150
million m 3 of water beneath Flood Glacier. The resulting flood was routed through the Stikine River, yielding a
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